PDA

View Full Version : Wood bats



Sioux_Yeah_Yeah
06-23-2005, 05:39 PM
NDHSAA has decided to use wood bats for high school baseball starting in 2007. Very good rule I think. The only thing that will suffer is the budget. It may cost more to constantly be buying new wood bats. Though at this level not as many bats will be breaking.

I think that in 5-6 years every level will use wood bats. As I watched CWS last weekend I got to thinking that all it would take would be for one of these comebackers to hit a pitcher while on ESPN. Two kids from Montana have been killed by comebackers and they finally went to all wood (legion).

I also wonder if with the technology we now have that they won't make aluminum bats with "anti-pop" What I mean by that is bats that have the same pop as wood bats, but aren't going to break. This would solve the problem of cost at the lower levels and also take care of the problem of aluminums.

Paulie
06-23-2005, 07:20 PM
The aluminum bats would have to be weighted differently also. You can generate much more bat speed with the current aluminum bats because they weight less.

Sioux_Yeah_Yeah
06-23-2005, 07:29 PM
The aluminum bats would have to be weighted differently also. *You can generate much more bat speed with the current aluminum bats because they weight less. *


Yes, although the difference wouldn't be that much as they use -3 right now in high school and college and many wood bats are -1.5.

Big_BisonFan
06-23-2005, 08:07 PM
Does anyone know what the DAC-10 uses? Do they use the composite wood bats? and how much more did they spend on bats?

I would guess it isn't that much of a difference since the alluminum bats are $150-$300 and wood bats are around $50-$100.

I think the NCAA should also go to wood/wood composite bats.

JBB
06-23-2005, 11:41 PM
The Minnesota Town leagues have outlawed metal bats with one hidden problem. The wood bats as you note are expensive and they break a lot. Something the metal bats didnt do. Its been a budget buster but everyone seems to be dealing with it.

ballboy
06-24-2005, 03:19 PM
To my knowledge the DAC-10 uses composite wood bats during fall ball, and go to aluminum during the regular season. The Montana Juco's do the same thing except Miles City C.C. which stays with the wood during the spring. This is where one of the pitchers was killed on the mound from a comebacker. Other than these 2 areas there is not a Legion team that I know of that uses wood. For economical reasons no doubt. That, and some teams would have no power hitters without the metal. I agree the game should return to wood bats... but with all the free equipment including uni's, gloves, cleats,etc. there really is no choice.

Sioux_Yeah_Yeah
06-24-2005, 04:42 PM
I know that when Miles City plays any team from another state they provide them with wood bats to use if they choose to. *Can't remember who, but a former major leaguer pays for Miles City's wood bats each year.

The Miles City coach is a former Sioux baseball player and friend of mine, we talked with him after the accident and it sure wasn't pretty. At that time I thought more states would pursue the wood bat rule, but they didn't.

ballboy
06-24-2005, 07:04 PM
Yes, it was a terrible accident. I felt really sorry for his folks, and the kid who hit the ball. My kid has been hit in the hip by a line drive so hard it left the laces imprinted in the bruise. Hazard of the game I guess. How about Prior? Broken bone in the elbow. Hats off to the NDHSAA for their decision.

Sioux_Yeah_Yeah
06-24-2005, 07:29 PM
The ball that hit the boy in Montana was hit so hard that after it hit him it went all the way over the backstop and out of the field.

Not sure if any of you remember Mike Rerick from GF/UND (great pitcher from a few years back) but he plays for one of Jamestown's amateur teams. A guy on our team hit a comebacker in the State championship game 2 years ago that hit him in the jaw. He had to have surgery and have his jaw wired shut.

I'm with you ballboy. I hope that college will follow suit in the near future.

Big_BisonFan
06-24-2005, 09:25 PM
http://www.minotdailynews.com/sports/story/0624202005_spt24sport1.asp

Article in the Minot Daily about wood bats. actually a good article for the Daily.

bisonranch
06-25-2005, 02:57 AM
I'm all about using wood. I don't understand why they don't use the $30-100 Louisville Sluggers like at Scheels rather than even the composite wood. Wood trains players to be better hitters.

ballboy
06-26-2005, 01:29 AM
If you get HBO try to watch Bryant Gumbel's Sports this week. There's a good segment on wood vs aluminum bats since this is CWS time. Pretty ironic that it is the same things we are talking about in this thread.

WYOBISONMAN
06-27-2005, 01:32 AM
Here is a web site on the kid from Miles City that was killed by the comebacker. He was in a Legion game between Miles City and Helena. This site has some pretty interesting info on the wood v. aluminum debate.

http://www.forever11.com